Die Hard with a Rebellion
by Super Tinfoil Man Part 2
Summary: NYPD Officer John McClane has saved hostages in the Nakatomi building, foiled mercenaries at an airport in D.C, defeated two more terrorist threats. But now the American hero faces his toughest test in a new playing field...Chapter 10 - The Final Chapter
1. Browsing a hotel

**Die Hard with a Rebellion **

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_Super Tinfoil Man Part 2 _

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_Disclaimer - I do not own Die Hard or Star Wars. _

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_Chapter 1 - Browsing a hotel - _

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**J**ohn McClane sat in his battered arm chair watching the local news. He dropped an empty can of beer next to several others lying next to the chair. He wiped the chip crumbs off of his chest and sat up, he let out a yawn and rubbed a hand over his unshaven face as thunder boomed just outside his window.

" Another beautiful day in New York. " He groaned as he got out of the chair. He went to the refrigerator and grabbed another six pack of beer. He returned to his chair, opened a beer and turned the channel to the Yankee game. The screen flickered along with the lights in the living room. Then the television screen started to lose focus as the pitcher walked up to the mound.

" Come on !" McClane whined as the picture continued to get fuzzier. Another thunder clap exploded outside_. The wind blew my dish off again. I'm not missing this game. _

He grabbed a wrench out of the kitchen drawer, threw on a dark brown jacket and left his house. He slammed a ladder on the side of the eve and climbed onto the roof while fighting the wind and rain. _The things I do for television. _He leaned down next to the slightly rattling dish and started tightening the bolts along the bottom of it.

" There ! You piece of shit, you better…."

Everything suddenly went white…..

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John McClane slowly opened his eyes, he saw a plush red carpet. He felt like he drank all night long. His head seemed too heavy to move off of the carpet, his limbs felt like pudding. _What did I drink last night ? Where the hell am I ? _He did a hard push up, his arms shaking the entire way. He rubbed his head and stood up wearily. _I'm in some kind of fancy hotel room. _He staggered around the room and noticed some very strange dressers, made of some shiny black metal. _What kind of strange theme does this place run ? Uh oh, I hope this isn't some freaky sex room. _He slowly turned and looked at the bed, it was empty. _Phew. _

He heard several footsteps run by his door. _What's going on out there ? _He leaned closer to the fancy, white door and listened further. But it was silent out there now. He reached for the door knob but there wasn't one there, just a black glossy panel next to it. _This place goes all out. What the hell ? _He noticed a round burn hole right on the front of his shirt. He grabbed an edge and looked at it. He then felt his chest, it stung to the touch. _Damn cigarettes. _

" O.K John, what the fuck where you up to last night ? " He searched around the room for a clue, but there was nothing that shook his memory. He suddenly thought of the Nakatomi building and his battle with Hans Gruber. The situation seemed vaguely familiar. _Stop it John, there's no terrorists here. _He walked over to the door again and waved his hand in front of the black panel. Nothing happened. _How do you open this damn thing ? _He took a small pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket, tapped one out and lit it.

He heard more footsteps running by outside the door. " Hey ! " He pounded on the door, " let me outta here ! " He listened intensely for a response, none came. He took a long haul from his cigarette as he looked at the black panel. He pressed his hand against it, a bright green light outlined his hand and the door made a hissing noise. It quickly slid to one side. He slowly stuck his head out and peered down the hallway, it was a long hallway lined with doors, both ways. There was nobody in sight. He tapped out another cigarette out of his pack, he raised it to his mouth but realized he already had one lit in his mouth. He threw the unlit smoke on the floor and squashed his lit one on the side of the door.

He slowly walked out into the hall. _Where the hell am I ? This isn't making any sense ! _He walked down the hall, looking at the fancy numbered doors along the way. _This place must be huge. _He saw a staircase turning right at the end of the hall, and an elevator door on his left side. He took a cautionary step to the side as he could hear another set of footsteps running up the stairs. Two teenaged boys appeared in dark purple jumpsuits with black straps crossing down to their belts. They both had frightened expressions as one rushed to a hotel door. He quickly started typing on the keypad to gain access to the room. _Damn troublesome kids. _McClane had an annoyed expression painted on his face as he'd arrested a few kids that age just a week ago, stealing booze. _What the hell are they wearing ? _

" Hurry up Itole. They're coming ! " One of the teens urged the other, who was desperately typing on the keypad.

" Hey ! " John called out, " mind telling me what's goin on ? "

The two boys quickly gave John a worried look, then they continued working on the pad until they gained access to the room. The door hissed shut.

" Thanks ! " John muttered then continued walking towards the end of the hall. He heard more footsteps marching up the stairs, he stopped walking and waited for his new visitors_. Probably cops chasing them. _

Two Stormtroopers exited the stairs with blaster rifles held to their chest plates. John's jaw became unhinged_. Now I __**know**__ I'm in some kind of crazy themed hotel. _

" You there ! " The first one called out, sounding like he was talking through a walky talky.

John looked behind himself, then turned and pointed to his chest with a puzzled expression.

" Come with me ! FL-848, you continue rounding up more of them. " The Stormtrooper stood right in front of John, pointing his large blaster rifle right at his chest.

_Nice props. _" Alright, " John smiled, raising his hands in the air, " you got me, space cop. What's the charge ? "

" Shut up and get moving ! " The Stormtrooper grabbed John's shoulder and pulled, then pushed him down the hall. John staggered forward and grabbed to the wall to prevent himself from falling.

" Easy fuck face ! " John growled. _Actors these days, taking everything so seriously. _

The Stormtrooper marched John down several flights of stairs, once in awhile poking the blaster in his back to make sure he kept pace. John just shook his head and smirked every time, not believing any of it. They rounded another turn when the staircase wall turned into a long window. John quickly glanced sideways out the window. Then continued walking down the stairs. He stopped with his eyes wide, took two steps back and stared out the window. His knees became weak and he fell to the ground.

The Senate District of Coruscant stretched into the horizon.

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End of chapter 1 . R&R!


	2. The Lobby

**Die Hard with a Rebellion **

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**Chapter 2 - The Lobby - **

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" That was some kind of hologram display right ? Right ? " John McClane muttered in half hysterics, mostly to himself.

" Shut up and keep moving ! " The Stormtrooper growled behind John, nudging him faster down the stairs.

After twenty minutes of descending stairs, they finally arrived in the main lobby of the hotel. There were two hundred guests and hotel personnel gathered in the center of the huge lobby. Two long rows of Stormtroopers lined both sides of the room right up to the front double doors. A row of Imperial soldiers, dressed in their grey uniforms, lined up in front of the door to prevent escape. The Stormtrooper shoved John into the crowd.

John was still in shock from his surroundings, there were green aliens, men and woman dressed strangely, and the newest shocker, fully functional servant droids that stood next to their masters. They were all talking loudly, some in plain English, others in a language John had never heard in his life.

" This is some fucked up dinner theatre. " John breathed out. The main double doors opened. An Imperial Commander strolled through the doors, flanked on each side by two Stormtroopers. He was a man in his late forties, with badly scarred cheeks and a bald head.

" Attention ! " The commander bellowed, the crowd eventually silenced and turned their attention to the commander.

" My name is Commander Janock Karn, " He announced as a slight smirk formed on his scarred face, " I will not delay your vacation for long. We have tracked a fugitive to this building and we know he hasn't left yet. This building will be on lock down until we have him in our possession. Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated on this matter. "

The crowd erupted immediately in loud protest. Some were shaking fists towards Janock, some started to throw garbage around. Janock Karn nodded his head towards an Imperial soldier, the soldier shot a red laser bolt to the ceiling.

The crowd once again calmed down, mostly out of shock.

Janock took a holopad out of his breast pocket, he activated a large display of a face to the crowd. " We are looking for this man. He may be calling himself Echow. In fact, he's a former Jedi Master named Mace Windu. Extremely dangerous. Do not approach this man if you see him." Janock turned off the display and turned to a nearby Imperial soldier, " Find the hotel manager, we need access to the security cameras and to unlock the elevators. "

The crowd slowly broke out to a murmur. John ignored a man talking to him close by in a strange language. He couldn't get the image out of his head. The cloaked black man looked way too familiar. _Oh my god, I know who that looked like ! That was Zeus Carver ! _John had chased Simon, a mad bomber around New York with the help of the store owner nearly six years ago. He only had talked to Zeus once or twice since then.

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_One hour later ….. _

The crowd of hotel guests and employee's stood in the same spot, murmuring to each other, the imperials had walked through the crowds, asking them question after question.

A young Imperial soldier approached Janock, he nervously stood at attention in front of the imposing commander, " Sir, we haven't located the hotel manager yet. The desk clerk has informed us that he may be hiding in a safe room on one of the above floors. "

" Take five Stormtroopers and start searching each floor. Take a door lock slicer with you, cutting open each door to the suites will take up too much time. " Janock watched the young Imperial run off and follow his orders. He turned his attention to the double doors as they opened.

" Ah, I see Lord Vader has hired you again," Janock smiled wide, " you are clearly his favorite bounty hunter, Boba Fett. "

The heavily armored bounty hunter stopped next to Janock and scanned the large crowd , " His payments are well worth the effort."

" You must be a little disappointed, this being one of the last known Jedi left in the galaxy. " Janock followed Boba's gaze into the crowd.

" You clearly haven't come across any Jedi in your lifetime, Karn. Your odds of catching one are pretty low, killing one is even lower." Janock nodded at this statement and walked over to the main desk. He started searching through the entry logs to see how many people were supposed to be in the building.

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_This is not looking good. I could be stuck here for a long, long time. Wherever the hell HERE is. _" Hey, pal. " John patted a really fat man on the shoulder, the big man slowly turned his massive frame around to John , " what's the name of this place ? "

" The Palagrash Hotel, " The sweaty faced fat man beamed, as if talking to a complete fool, " only the most famous Hotel in all of Coruscant ! " He then let out a high pitched laugh.

" How big is it ? How many floors ? " John asked, eyeing the rows of Stormtroopers milling around the perimeter of the crowd.

" Were you just born, my friend ? " The fat man then laughed right in John's face.

" Listen fatty, just answer my fuckin questions and I won't crush your goddamn balls with my fist. " John said, as though he was talking about the weather, he kept eying the Stormtroopers.

" It's uh, " The fat man scratched his temple with a pudgy finger, " about two hundred floors I believe. Capable of thirty thousand guests. This is a really slow time of the year though. These couple of hundred guests are most likely the entire lot. "

" Thanks, " John walked around the fat man, " Stop eating already, jerk off." He made his way through the crowd until he reached the front, near the double door main entrance. He watched the heavily armored Bobba Fett entering codes into a hand held computer pad. _What kind of trouble could Zeus be in to bring in the space army ? _John slapped the side of his own head. _Christ, did I just think that ? _

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" Tell your men to stay out of my way. I'm heading up to the top floor. When you fix the elevators, open all of them at the same time. " Boba Fett said as he walked by Janock at the front desk. Janock Karn watched the grey bounty hunter walk up the stairs out of sight. _So it begins, bounty hunter. It will be ME delivering the body of Mace Windu to lord Vader. _

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_End of chapter 2 - _


	3. We have a problem

**Die Hard with a Rebellion **

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**Chapter 3 -** _We have a problem. -_

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**J**ohn watched a group of people talking near the front desk, he eyed their identical, dark red uniforms with a golden P.H embroidered on the breast pocket. _Hotel staff. _He shuffled his way towards them through the packed crowd in the lobby.

He got an attractive, green haired woman out of the group and got her attention. " Tell me you speak English." John said with mocking exasperation.

" I speak basic, sir." She said sweetly, adding a flirtatious smile, " how can I help you ? "

" A big hotel like this needs a security staff, don't it ? " He asked, eyeing the bald Janock Karn behind the large front desk, tapping in commands on a computer screen and making concerned faces. _Ugly, scarred cheeked bastard. _

" We have a few, yes. Why do you ask ? " She tried not to bring attention to the fact that she was staring at his odd clothing.

" I need to speak to one. It'll only take a minute." He had to raise his voice as the chatter in the crowd began to grow again. She nodded then turned and tapped another employee on the shoulder, the man turned and said something to her in a strange language. He then stepped in front of John, he towered over him.

" Yes, sir. How can I help you ? " The tall man asked him in a deep voice.

" When trouble breaks out in your hotel, what do you guys use to detain somebody ? You got handcuffs, bats ? Anything ? " John eyed a small, black box hanging off the man's belt.

" We only have our stunners. If you are suggesting using these things against the Empire then I must object, kind sir. " The tall man lowered his voice as to not draw the wrong kind of attention their way.

" Why didn't they take them off of you already ? "

" There was no need. We wouldn't resist a platoon of Stormtroopers with our stunners. A foolish effort, sir. " The man let out a snorting laugh. John let out a fake laugh himself, " Just askin' see you later then."

The tall man returned to his conversation with his fellow employee's. John walked through the crowd again until he saw two more Palagrash Hotel staff talking to one another. He spotted the small black box on one of them, but it was a fat, green alien. He walked over to gave the alien a soft shoulder bump.

" Aloosh ! Foligra hagh' mamosi ? " The alien objected in his native language.

" Sorry. " John gave the alien a head nod and carried on through the crowd.

He looked around and saw that nobody was giving him any extra attention. John removed the small black box from his pocket. On the top face of the metal gadget there were three small dials, all marked in an alien language, on the side of the box there was a small thumb trigger_. Great, I would have to steal one from an alien thing. There I go again ! Aliens ! This goddamn game has gone on long enough ! _

" Hey, hey buddy ! " He got an old man's attention by grabbing his sleeve. The rich, old man turned around with an appalled expression on his white bearded face. His personal protocol droid stepped closer to his side.

" My word ! Do you know who I _am_, sir ? " The old man said, still taken back by the action of touching him.

" Honestly old man, I don't give a rat's ass. What planet are we on ? Quick ! What city ? "

" Coruscant, I think you've been to the bar once too often today. "

" I don't believe this." John rubbed a hand over his bald head to wipe off a small sweat mist, " What about you robot ? Do you speak ? " John spat at the dark grey protocol droid standing nearby.

" Certainly, my sub programs are capable of…"

" I don't give a shit, just tell me what these symbols mean on this device here. " He displayed the stunner to the protocol droid.

" This dial here is a low stun setting. This one is medium. This one is high. It is the latest in Bractech Security Products. The JP-146 model before it tested low on…"

" Ya, ya. Thanks. " John put the box back in his pocket and made his way to the edge of the crowd. He saw what looked like an A.T.M near the soda dispenser, next to a black leather couch. Next to the futuristic banking machine there was a round socket in the wall, without a plug attached. He noticed the machine had no power running to it.

He walked slowly over to the machine, looked around and took out the black stunner. He turned the small dial the protocol droid said was the high setting. A blue light started to glow on the front of the black box.

_Here goes nothing. _

He hit the thumb trigger and jammed the black stunner into the wall socket. There was a loud crackling noise, then the entire lobby was plunged into darkness. The previous chatter of the crowd was now replaced with loud and panicked protests . People started running into each other, several protocol droids began turning on their eye lights. Imperial officers yelled for the crowd the settle down. The lights returned moments later.

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John had reached the third floor. He stopped and took a breath. He listened for any footsteps in hot pursuit, but there was the distant sound of the lobby and nothing else.

" O.K, what's the plan now John ?" He tapped out a cigarette and lit it, " Two hundred floors, Zeus or a guy that _looks_ like Zeus is in one of them. They were calling him Mace something, and dangerous ? Ha, ya right."

He walked to the fourth floor and entered the hallway. He strolled down the long hall, looking at the different numbers along the way. All the suite doors were identical white, a stark contrast to black walls with red trim. He reached the end of the hall, there was a small couch and a snack machine. There was an exit to the staircase on this side of the massive building. But there was one more thing there that made him immediately scratch his forehead out of stress. He threw his cigarette on the carpet and rubbed it out with his sneaker. The window was a small triangle barely bigger than John's head. He slowly walked up to it and peered out.

" Well, John old boy. " John's voice caught, " it's time you accept your not in New York anymore." He stood there and stared at the Senate district of Coruscant stretch into the horizon in a different direction this time. He watched the speeder traffic in the air zip back and fourth, the tiny specks of people move across a tube bridge connecting two massive towers in the middle, he watched several droid window cleaners in the building nearby, it was shocking, yet a beautiful sight at the same time.

He entered the stairwell and made his way to the fifth floor. He stopped half way there when he heard several footsteps on the same stairs, echoing loudly. He listened for the direction of the sound. " Dammit, behind me or above me ? " He made a quick decision and jumped up the stairs three at a time towards the fifth floor. He rounded a bend and stopped right in front of an Imperial lieutenant, in his grey uniform, he had five Stormtrooper's directly behind him, all with their laser rifles now aimed at John's chest.

" Another straggler, " The lieutenant lifted his nose in a snooty fashion, he straightened his lapel and gave John a disgusted look, " you look like you were dragged through a garbage dump. Take him to the lobby. " He waved a hand at the nearest Stormtrooper.

" Let's go! " The Stormtrooper pushed John's shoulder and spun him around to head down the stairs. They walked around the bend, just out of sight of the lieutenant and his remaining four troopers. John quickly turned back towards him and gave the trooper a backdrop down the stairs, the Stormtrooper's rifle clacked on the steps in front of John. The Stormtrooper continued to roll down the stairs out of sight. John picked up the large rifle and gave it a quick inspection.

" Shit ! " John jumped back as two red laser bolts exploded into the wall next to him from above. He reached around the corner and returned fire, wildly. He heard a muffled scream and another Stormtrooper rolled by him on the stairs, this one with a black burn hole in his chest. Another three red lasers exploded on the wall near him and he took a few steps back. The red laser bolts kept appearing and creating black ash stars on the wall. The smoke was starting to fill up the stairwell. John quickly turned and ran down the stairs towards the fourth floor entrance, he tripped over the knocked out Stormtrooper and fell down a few stairs before he stopped himself. He could hear the troopers running down the stairs now.

" Sorry, buddy. " John pulled the knocked out Strormtrooper over himself, stuck his rifle through the armored trooper's armpit and waited. Two Stormtroopers ran into sight and were met quickly with a barrage of lasers from John's rifle. One managed to land a laser bolt right into John's trooper shield. They both let out pathetic cry's as they were hit repeatedly, they rolled down the stairs next to John.

John stood up and picked up another rifle off of the dead Stormtrooper. He walked up the stairs with a rifle ready in both arms. The last remaining Stormtrooper ran into sight and fired immediately, he missed his two shots and John fired both rifles, the trooper was hit three times in the chest and one right on the forehead.

" Commander ! This is Leutenent Ritt ! We have a problem on the…" The Leutenant smashed his head off of the wall after John belted him with the butt of his rifle. He picked up the small earpiece and mic.

" You got a fuckin problem alright, and his name is John McClane. " He said into the mic then crushed it under his sneaker.

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Janock Karn slowly lowered his earpiece and placed it on the front desk. He closed his eyes and shook his bald head. He tapped on the computer screen and brought up the guest list another time. He couldn't find John's name in it.

" Sir ! " A middle aged Imperial officer ran up to him, alarmed, " we lost contact with Leutenant Ritt and his men ! "

" Yes, I know, " Karn rubbed his eyes hard, " there's some kind of mercenary running around calling himself John McClane. Now gather some men and go _GET HIM _! " Karn roared, startling several guests nearby.

The officer ran off to follow Janock's orders_. He was down here, I'm sure of it. He must've escaped during that blackout. _

The Imperial Officer ran up the stairs with ten Stormtrooper's following close behind. At the other staircase, a black man wearing a fancy purple robe walked into the lobby, followed close behind by three Stormtroopers. They marched him to the front of the desk.

" Commander, this is the owner of the hotel. He surrendered in a suite on the second floor. " A trooper announced.

" Good work, " Karn nodded at the Stormtrooper, then gave the hotel owner a sneer, " come around the desk, we need to have a few words about your hotel, Lando Calrissian. "

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End of chapter 3 -


	4. I see you

**Die Hard with a Rebellion **

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**Chapter 4 - I see you - **

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**The Lobby**

" Arrest me and let these people get on with their lives." Lando scowled softly in front of Karn, he held his wrists out to be handcuffed. Janock Karn raised his eyebrows and smiled. " You think we're here to arrest _you_ ? "

" Of coarse, " Lando scanned the lobby for any unknown visitors, " who else could you be here for ? "

Karn slid a holocard on the table and activated it, an image of Mace Windu floated around in a light blue light for a moment. He turned it off and returned it to his pocket. He watched Lando's reaction.

" I've never seen him before in my life." Lando said, looking Karn straight in the eyes. Karn jumped up and punched Lando in the face hard. He fell on his back holding his eye. Palagrash Hotel employee's gasped at the action. A few had to hold their friends back as they reacted in anger.

" You know who he is ! " Karn stood over Lando, " you're hiding him !"

" No I don't know who he is ! If I knew I'd tell you, I swear ! " Lando looked at the blood on his hand as he took it off of his eye, there was a small gash across his eyebrow.

" Get up. Take me to your security room now. " Karn waited for Lando to stand up. Lando guided Karn through a hidden door behind a hanging designer cloth on the wall. They walked down a short hallway, followed by two Stormtroopers. Lando typed in a code on the keypad next to a metal door. The door quickly slid to one side and they entered a large round room filled with monitors.

" Don't shoot ! " A young, pimply faced teen squeaked as he jumped off of his chair.

" Don't worry Gotad. Just sit back down, we'll need you to do a few things for us. " Lando guided the teen back to his chair, they stood around Gotad as he sat in front of the computer terminal.

" Unlock the elevators. " Janock Karn commanded.

Gotad started typing away, he stopped and ran his finger across the screen, a green bar followed his finger into a file then vanished. He typed some more then waved his hand. " Done Mr. Calrissian. "

" Bring up the security cameras. " Karn barked. Gotad gulped visibly and gave Lando a worried look. Lando gave him a nod.

" Well ? "

" We have to wait thirty minutes for the sub file to reboot, after that we can access the file. During emergency's the files are cold stopped." Lando explained.

" Reboot it then. I swear Lando, if this is some kind of trick to stall me, I'll kill every one of your employee's in the lobby, then you." Karn displayed his silver hand laser gun.

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**Floor 6 **

John McClane peeked around the corner at the end of the long hallway lined with suite doors. An Imperial Officer used a small device to scan the bar over a keypad, the suite door opened and he waved three Stormtroopers to follow him. John started to creep his way along the wall, holding the laser rifle ahead of himself. There was a brief chime and a green light appeared over a door across the hallway from him. He quickly pointed the rifle towards the doors as they slid open. But there was nobody inside.

" Time to go for a ride. " John entered the elevator. He looked at the three hundred tiny buttons on the panel next to the door. Each button had a strange engraving on them. " Gotta be kidding me. " He heard the door to the stairwell open on the left, followed by several stomping footsteps.

He pressed a button near the top of the panel. The doors quickly closed, then he heard the whirring outside the elevator. He stumbled to one side and grabbed the rail as the car raced up to the hundred and thirty fifth floor. At a large circular sitting area on the same floor, Boba Fett entered an open elevator and the door closed. At the other end of the floor, John McClane staggered out of an elevator.

He slapped the side of his head, " We need those downtown, what a ride." He walked cautiously down the hall, several of the suite doors were jammed open. He pointed the laser rifle inside a suite and entered slowly. There were blast marks all over the walls inside the room, a man was lying on his back with a big black hole at the bottom of his neck, his hand laser gun still grasped in his hand. John peeled back the dead man's fingers and grabbed the laser gun. He tucked the hand gun in his belt and rummaged around the room for any more weapons. He gave up his search and walked back out to the hall, sweeping his rifle right to left first. He walked into another open suite. There was an old married couple sitting nervously at the edge of their bed.

" Who are you ? " The old man demanded in his pajama's.

" John McClane, " John said without looking at them, he gave the room a quick inspection, he noticed the closet was torn open with a blunt object, " who did this to the room ? "

" A bounty hunter looking for that black JedI. " The man said again and shrugged, " why doesn't the guy just turn himself in. He's got to be the last JedI alive."

" What the hell is a JedI ? " John said, letting the rifle fall to his side.

" They were a group of peace keepers, they had these special powers. But they were pretty dangerous. If one of them turned bad, they'd wipe out entire cities. I've never seen one personally, just read about them. The Emperor ordered their existence to be extinguished. Darth Vader and several bounty hunters have covered the galaxy, taking out the JedI one by one. How do you not know about any of this ? The Clone Wars are barely ten years over."

" I've been in a long coma. Who is this Darth Vader guy ? "

" Some say he used to be a JedI himself. He turned and is the Emperor's apprentice. He's the enforcer of the Empire. " The old man shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable talking about Darth Vader.

" Sounds like a bad ass, I'll try to avoid him. How long have you two stayed here at the hotel ? "

" Do you work with the Empire ? " The old woman asked.

" No lady, I'm one of the good guys." John said, lighting a cigarette.

" So your with the _Rebellion ! _" She gasped and grabbed her husbands arm.

" Uh, I guess. Tell me a little about the hotel folks. " John turned his head to listen for any sounds, there were no footsteps.

" Well, on floor one hundred is the _Lavoy Restaurant_, and excellent selection for every taste. The top floor is the _Palagrash Bar and Grill_, with a large skylight. On floor ninety eight there is the _Lando Casino_, can only be entered by a secret stairway. Seeing how casino's are illegal in the Senate District. Umm, there's the gaming floor, on floor, umm, what floor is that on Matikka ? "

" I don't remember dear. "

" Thanks for your help folks. " John raised his laser rifle, " you better stay here. If you hear anyone coming in the future, find a place to hide. O.K ? "

" Be careful young man ! " The old lady called out as John left the room. " Nice man. "

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**The lobby **

" The file is ready, Mr. Calrissian." Gotad looked up from the computer screen. Lando nodded at the boy and Karn commanded the security file to be opened. The boy opened the file and every monitor in the large circular room lit up, all showing nine split screens of different cameras around the hotel.

" This is quite a system you have here Lando, " Karn smiled as he strolled around the room, " one would think you were a little paranoid."

" Maybe a little. " Lando folded his arms behind his back, he secretly tapped in a code on his watch, activating a maintenance lift on the roof of the hotel.

" You wouldn't have a casino on one of the floors, would you ? " Karn leaned closer to one of the monitors. Watching Imperial Officers talking to each other near the front doors.

" It's a possibility. " Lando gulped visibly.

" Illegal in the Senate District. I could lock you up for a _very_ long time. Now I want you to be honest with me, no secrets. I want you to tell me where Mace Windu is. " Karn walked over to Lando and stared him in the eyes.

" Like I said, I've never seen him before in my life."

" Boy, " Karn barked at Gotad, " bring up the recordings from exactly three hours ago. Attach it through all the monitors for a continuous picture." Karn stood in the middle of the room, all the monitors went blank for a moment, then a large continuous picture of the lobby appeared. Guests were shown milling in and out of the Hotel. A cleaning droid buzzed around the carpet, more guests walked in the main doors.

" Stop !" Karn yelled. The image of a man in a brown cloak was frozen on the screen, his face out of view. " Let it go forward three seconds then stop again."

The man in the brown robe took three quick steps before the image froze again, this time his face was in the light. It was Mace Windu. " Pull the image back so we can see the entire lobby. " The teen complied, showing an overhead view of the lobby. Karn waved his hand and the image came to life. He watched Mace quickly pay the desk clerk, sign in then wave his hand at the clerk. The clerk said something to the JedI, the JedI then walked to the elevator, then walked in. Karn watched the clerk shake her head in confusion. _He did a mind trick on her ! _He noticed that Lando was nowhere in sight in the recording.

" Bring up the elevator image. " Karn ordered.

" The camera in that specific elevator doesn't work. " Lando explained.

" Then bring up every elevator exit from that elevator in the building. He had to leave it sometime. " Karn gave the teen a stern look.

" Just a moment," the teen typed away, " There, all exits are displayed in that time period."

Karn crossed his arms and watched the human, droid and alien traffic go in and out every elevator door. Several minutes passed with no sign of Mace walking out any of the elevators.

" It looks like he made his way out of the car," Lando broke the silence with surprise in his voice, " you'd need a Blox-Wrench just to open the hatch on the ceiling. He must've crawled into a maintenance tunnel, every floor has at least five."

" Bring up the power surge footage. " Karn commanded, ignoring Lando.

Karn waited for a moment, the screens changed to the lobby. The crowd of guests and employees were chatting with each other, surrounded by Imperial Officers and Stormtroopers. Janock Karn was behind the front desk. One of the guests walked over next to a bank machine.

" Freeze it ! " Karn barked. The image of a bald man froze, he was trying to look casual, looking to one side, his brown jacket with a white shirt on, there was a burn hole in the front of his shirt.

" Let it go ahead, slowly. " The image showed the bald man jam a stunner into a power socket in the wall, followed by darkness.

" I see you, " Karn sneered, " John McClane."

* * *

End of chapter 4


	5. Space Wizard

**Die Hard with a Rebellion **

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* * *

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_**Chapter 5 - Space Wizard **_**- **

* * *

**Floor 135 **

John McClane pressed his hand on the panel next to the elevator doors. A green light outlined his hand and the elevator opened after a moment. He did one last look down the hall, raised his blaster rifle and entered the car. He counted one hundred buttons from bottom of the panel and pressed it. Before the elevator doors closed, a hand grabbed the side preventing them from closing, John quickly pointed his rifle.

" Don't shoot ! " An old man raised his hands, he had the Palagrash Hotel uniform on, there were four other employees standing behind him.

" Dammit ! " John lowered the rifle, " I nearly blew you away. "

They all entered the elevator, John sighed and moved to the back. One of them pressed a button near the top of the panel.

" Lando freed the maintenance lift. We have to get there now, it's our one chance to get away." The employee's nervously chatted amongst themselves as John felt the elevator descend rapidly. One of the Palagrash employee's stood next to him at the back of the car, he was a Bothan.

" I still can't believe this is happening to me." John shook his head and laughed as the hairy, dog faced alien shifted his weight next to him. John staggered a bit as the car came to a halt.

" This is your stop, sir. " The Bothan murmured in a deep baritone.

" Thanks, Scooby-Doo. " John shuffled his way out of the car. The doors closed and he was left in complete silence. _The Lavoy Restaurant _sign arched over the fancy, flower engraved entrance to the floor sized restaurant. John looked around cautiously to make sure he was alone. He walked through the dining room, past the rows of tables towards a flower shaped fountain, long turned off. The walls were lined with holo-pictures of moving scenery, in between each picture there hung a plant in a golden weaved basket. John moved his hand over the side of the fountain and felt the cool marble finish.

" I hope the service here is good. " He made his way around a bar and a door swished open when he walked in front of it. John quickly raised his blaster rifle, then slowly made his way inside a large kitchen. He walked over to one of the many refrigerators and opened it. He grabbed a purple, fist sized fruit and stared at it. It was covered in black dots.

" What the fuck is this ? " He put the fruit down and rummaged around other strange foods inside the fridge. He sighed and grabbed the purple fruit after finding nothing else edible looking. He raised the fruit to his mouth when suddenly he felt a cold muzzle of a blaster press on the back of his head.

* * *

**The Lobby **

" Lieutenant Rentner, " Janock Karn spoke into a small hand mic inside the security room, " floor one twenty, at least seven guests unaccounted for just entered room six eight vl. See to it. "

Lando Calrissian eyed the Stormtrooper and Karn, he then secretly tapped a few buttons on his wrist watch computer. Gotad, the tech teen, spotted the move and gulped visibly.

Karn watched Rentner arrive too late as the guests escaped again, always one step ahead of his men. He scratched his head, stressed out.

" How are they avoiding my m….." Karn's communicator beeped. He removed it from his pocket, frowned, then eye balled the Stormtrooper, " keep these two in sight trooper. I'll be right back. " Karn walked out of the security room.

Karn walked to the end of the hall to the door to the lobby. He activated his communicator. A holo image appeared in front of him.

" Greetings, " Karn lowered his head, " Lord Vader."

" Have you killed the JedI, commander ? " The holo image of the dark lord placed his hands on his hips.

" Not yet, but we're close." Karn responded, nervously. Darth Vader always made the commander nervous, as he did to most Imperials.

" I have dispatched a bounty hunter to help in his demise. Boba Fett has a personal vendetta against him. He is the last JedI alive. You know that it would advance your career considerably if _you_ were responsible for his death, but I don't want you to hinder Boba Fett's hunt, he works best alone. "

" I won't get in his way, my lord. " Karn lowered his head, figuring the conversation was over, but Darth Vader wasn't done yet.

" Mace Windu has been hiding on Coruscant since the fall of the JedI order. He has survived this long right under the Empire's nose, _do not underestimate him_, " Vader pointed, " I'm arriving on Coruscant in two days. If he's not dead by the time I arrive, then I'll be there to deal with him myself. "

Karn cleared his throat, " I will not fail you, lord Vader. "

" Make sure you don't. "

* * *

**Floor 100 **

" Drop your weapon on the floor, now. "

John held out the rifle sideways, then dropped it on the tile floor of the kitchen.

" Who are you ? " The voice asked, still pressing the blaster on the back of John's head.

" John McClane, food inspector. " He bit into the fruit, it was sweet and juicy. He then dropped the fruit to the floor as well. He turned his head slowly, feeling the barrel slide around his head until it was pressed into his forehead.

" Zeus ! I can't believe it's really you ! " John let out a laugh, but the brown robed man still held the gun to his head.

" You have the wrong guy, " Mace tilted his head slightly to one side as he gazed at John, revealing a badly scarred cheek, " have I met you somewhere before ?"

" Zeus, Mace, whatever the fuck you're calling yourself, you've got to remember me. Simon the terrorist bomber ? Running around New York, defusing bombs and shit ? "

" You talk strangely." Mace frowned and lowered the blaster from John's forehead. He turned and walked away from John, towards the back of the kitchen.

" Hey, " John called out as he picked up his rifle, " where are you going ? "

Mace pushed in a square part of the wall behind the salad table, the square section of the wall fell to one side, " I'm heading back behind the walls. Don't think about following me."

Mace let out a heavy sigh as John followed him under the salad table, then inside the wall. The JedI replaced the wall square and crouched his way towards an old crate.

" Alright, what now, space wizard ? " John sat down next to Mace in front of the crate.

" Listen, John the food inspector, " Mace grunted as he pulled his hood over his bald head, " I've foreseen a stranger helping me out, but not quite as strange as you. "

" Great, " John lit a cigarette, " the space psychic wizard ninja is calling _me _strange. "

" If you are the stranger, " Mace turned and looked hard at John, " then I guess I'll have to deal with it for now. John, I'm a JedI Master, formerly part of a larger order, protectors of the galaxy. We were deceived by a Sith Lord who created a clone army to protect the republic. Those very clones turned on all the JedI. We were hunted and killed by clones, bounty hunters and Darth Vader. I was out of action for a few years due to a very bad fall during my battle with the Emperor. Anakin Skywalker turned on me at the last second and severed my arm. " Mace took off a black glove and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a robotic arm. John raised his eyebrows.

" Over the years, I stayed in hiding. Changed my name, tried to heal my injuries with the force. I watched the Empire grow, as well as the Rebellion. With the help of a skilled slicer, I intercepted a transmission a month ago. The Empire has discovered a secret factory on a moon in the outer rim territories. The factory belongs to the Rebellion, in this factory they are building twenty five X-Wing fighters." Mace covered his mouth and coughed.

" You alright Zeus ? "

" Stop calling me that. It's Mace Windu. The Empire is planning to bomb the factory and destroy it. Twenty five X-Wing fighters doesn't sound like much of a loss for the Rebellion, but it is. You see, I've had a vision from the force. One of those X-Wings will be flown by a future JedI Master, a teenage boy. The importance of this X-Wing will change the tide dramatically in the war and save the Rebellion from total destruction. I have the plans and information stored on this disc. I was planning to leave Coruscant with this and deliver it to Mon Mothma when my slicer friend betrayed me. I've been hunted by Imperials and bounty hunters ever since. I've been shot recently and took refuge in this hotel. The hotel owner is sending me a cleaning droid at this location in ten minutes with a plan to escape the building." Mace held his side and started coughing again.

" Why couldn't this future JedI kid just use a different X-Wing space ship ? Can he not fly anything else besides that specific ship ? "

" No, " Mace shook his head, " it _has_ to be that X-Wing. One slight decrease or increase in mechanics will change the course of the future."

A small, spherical cleaning droid rolled up to Mace's side. It made a few beeping noises then rolled in front of the two men. A small slot opened at the top of the droid and a flat panel slid up then turned. The screen turned on revealing Lando Calrissian hunched up next to a bed.

" Listen JedI, " Lando nervously looked over the bed at a noise in the hall, " I want you out of my hotel immediately. You've brought the Empire's attention here. I just happen to be running an illegal Casino, plus I have a few employee's who have a bit of a bad criminal record. I'm going to provide you with an escape, JedI. On floor ninety eight is my casino, it's only accessible through a secret staircase. The elevators cruise past floor ninety eight. Go to floor ninety seven and take the east staircase down until you see the first Palagrash Hotel sign on your right side. Take your finger and hold it on the letter H until you hear a bell. The sign will raise up for a moment revealing a door. Enter the casino and go around the bar to the left, enter my office with this password, 3847VKK4LL9. Write it down. "

John shrugged his shoulders, Mace tapped his temple.

" When you enter my office there will be a wall sized golden sign reading _Lando's Casino_. Pull down on the L and the letters C and A will spread apart revealing a keypad. Punch in _Lando Calrissian 9813TTT.. _Write it down. " Lando waited for a moment while looking over the bed.

" The room you'll enter is my casino safe. The safe in the middle of the room is welded to the floor. The entire room is actually an escape pod from an old Yaught I used to own. Go to the controls and enter the same code you used to enter the room, this will unlock the controls. Hit the eject button and the ship will jettison from the building, then the enjines will spark. To prevent thieves from making off with my safe, I've set the ship to self destruct in two minutes unless it travels through a specific area of Curuscant. The first area is right next to the Garnhass Appartment Complex only a few miles away from here, fly right over the roof and the timer will restart. The next location is under the Draz'Hol Overpass, the last location is directly over Pall's Restaurant. The timer will turn off. Please leave the safe pod in the speeder parking pad outside the Gentren Mall. I'm going down to the lobby to surrender, get out of the hotel as soon as this message turns off. " Lando reached towards the screen and the massage went dark.

Mace shook his head and frowned," If I had my lightsaber, we could walk out the front door."

" I don't like it. The guy seems greasy, Zeus. "

" Call me Zeus again and I'll… " Mace coughed loudly and held his side.

" I ran into a few of his employee's in the elevator. They were heading to a service lift on the roof. If we went up there and used that lift we could save ourselves a lot of trouble. " John waited for Mace's answer, the JedI just rubbed his chin in thought.

" It's a hell of a lot better than risking our skin in that escape ship. " John tried to convince Mace as he lit another cigarette.

" No, " Mace quickly stood up next to the crate, " we're going to that Casino. Let's go John. "

" Wait a fuckin second here Mace. Are you not even considering the roof escape ? " John stood up and gave the JedI a dirty look.

Mace held the disc in front of John's face, " I'm not risking the Rebellion on a half baked plan." He then turned and walked away from John.

John watched Mace walk into the darkness. He shook his head , " You know what, fuck your Rebellion ! I'm leaving this place !" He stood alone waiting for an answer, when none came he lifted his rifle and walked off in the opposite direction.

* * *

End of Chapter 5


	6. He can't be alive

**Die Hard with a Rebellion **

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* * *

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**Chapter 6 - He can't be alive - **

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* * *

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**The Lobby - Security Room **

" Wait , " Karn pointed to one of the security cameras, " there he is." The Imperial Commander immediately started calling in orders. Lando squinted at the monitor Karn was making a fuss over. It showed a bald white man in a dark brown jacket with a white undershirt on under it, carrying a blaster rifle. _Who is that guy ? _

_

* * *

_

**Floor 100- Elevator - **

John McClane hammered the top floor button in frustration, he was still upset about Mace taking the difficult path to escape the building by heading down to the Casino. _Jerk, he doesn't seem like the Zeus I remember at all. A totally different guy_. The elevator lurched as it accelerated to the top floor. John grabbed the rail and shook his head. _Don't think I'll ever get used to these turbo powered elevators_. The doors opened to a soft melody playing and the smell of flowers.

He walked into a wide open restaurant called the _Palagrash Bar and Grill_. All the white dining tables were ready for the days service. A half moon bar at the back of the restaurant had an enormous stuffed fish hanging over it. There was a large chandelier hanging down the center of the restaurant from a metal cross beam just under a circular skylight.

" Another restaurant. " He muttered as he made his way through the place. He walked behind the bar and entered a large kitchen, this one seemed better equipped than the last restaurant he just came from. He saw a staircase next to the freezer door, he decided to try that one out.

He opened a door to a cool breeze and the loud buzzing of traffic overhead. The roof was scattered with large, square buildings for storage and machinery. He walked in between two ten foot tall energy sheds that were spitting small funnels of steam into the air. He made his way to the edge of the roof, the permacrete barrier was just over knee high. He looked over the edge and saw a layer of fog half way down the two hundred floor drop to the street below. There were two window cleaning droids performing their daily duties.

" There you are, " John spotted the dark red maintenance lift twenty yards to his left, " time to get out of this shit hole. " He stood on the barrier and started to shimmy sideways with his back against one of the energy sheds. He then stepped back down after a gust of wind staggered him sideways.

" I'll walk around, what the hell was I thinking ? " He shook his head and laughed as he navigated his way around the tall sheds towards the maintenance lift. He walked into the center of the lift and pressed one of the six colored buttons on the panel. There was a loud clank, he had activated the emergency brake system.

" Stupid thing, one of these buttons…." John froze with his finger poised over a green button as he heard the loud whining of a ship approaching. He turned and saw an armored Imperial Speeder roaring towards him from the Coruscant skyline. The two Stormtroopers in the front were operating controls, one Stormtrooper in the back was pressing buttons on a large mounted laser cannon. Two laser cannons slid out of the side of the armored speeder and immediately opened fire at the lift.

" Shit ! " John turned and jumped just as several red laser bolts slammed into the lift, destroying it. Sparks and pieces of metal flew in every direction as the lift fell, John barely grabbed on to the permacrete barrier in time. He hung on tight as he started digging his sneakers in the wall to try and climb over the barrier, the speeder roared by overhead. He watched his laser rifle follow the pieces of maintenance lift to the street as he crawled over the barrier. The Imperial speeder did a wide turn and flew low towards John over the power sheds. John reached into his belt and pulled out the hand blaster he retrieved from the dead guy, he started firing wildly at the speeder as he ran down an alley between the power sheds. His shots only deflected away from the heavy armor. The Stormtrooper unleashed a thumping blast from the mounted laser cannon blowing up the top of the shed near John.

" Ahhh ! " John slid on his stomach and watched his blaster spin away as fire and metal debris fell all around him. The speeder roared by overhead, blowing debris away from John. He quickly jumped to his feet and made a run for the door he entered the roof on. The Imperial speeder did a wide turn behind him in the distant Coruscant sky. _I'm gonna make it. _He heard a distant thump and the door well exploded in front of him, he flew into the air as flaming debris whizzed past him. He sailed right over a large power shed and landed on the skylight and rolled to the middle of the round glass with the view of the dining room below.

John coughed and tried to catch his breath as he laid on his side. The speeder approached and fired it's side cannons, John rolled out of the way just in time as the lasers smashed the skylight. John freefell into the dining room and landed hard on the wide chandelier as glass rained all around him. His jacket was torn to shreds and his cheek was dripping blood, he gasped for breath and watched the speeder zip by overhead.

" TW-251, is the target terminated ? " The Stormtrooper that was driving asked his co-pilot.

" I saw him fall inside sir ! He can't be alive." TW-251 replied.

" Better make sure, drop a cleaner in there."

" Yes sir ! "

John grabbed the chain of the chandelier and pulled himself up to a sitting position. He looked down and contemplated jumping all the way down to the dining room floor. He shook his head and looked up the chain to the metal cross beam holding it. He heard the whine of the speeder approaching again. John crouched next to the chain trying to make himself small as possible. The speeder stopped overhead for a moment before continuing on. John watched a barrel with a white flashing beacon fall past him and smash through a dining room table.

* * *

**Floor 98 **

Mace Windu stepped into _Lando's Casino _and stopped. He looked to the ceiling as he heard a low, deep rumble. The room shook a little.

* * *

**Roof**

Everything inside the _Palagrash Bar and Grill _was blown to shreds as the barrel exploded, fire and smoke expanded out every window on the floor sending debris comets flying into the open air. Parts of the roof caved in sending huge mushroom clouds growing into the sky. John McClane flew through the air grasping the chain for dear life. His eyes grew wide as he passed the permacrete barrier and saw the endless side of the building stretch down to the street. The chandelier scraped and dug into the side of the barrier, the chain jerked tight and John swung down and slammed into the side of the building. He hung there trying to hold on tight as pieces of permacrete and flaming tables fell all around him. He looked down and watched the speeder dodge a large chunk of building to glide several floors directly under him. He let go of his improvised grappling hook and glided through the air for a moment before landing hard on a Stormtrooper behind the mounted cannon. The trooper was knocked out from the blow, John bounced off of a cushioned panel and fell next to the cannon.

" Look out ! " The copilot yelled as the speeder swayed for a moment and bumped into the side of the building before the pilot could regain control. Another Imperial Speeder approached from behind with five Stormtroopers aboard. John jumped up and spun around the mounted cannon to point at the new arrival. Four of the Stormtroopers started to fire at him but it was too late, he unleashed a blast directly into the nose of the Imperial speeder, the speeder exploded in a large ball of fire sending Stormtroopers pieces flying in all directions. The copilot jumped up and punched John in the side of the head sending him crashing into a tool box.

The copilot Stormtrooper reached into his hip holster and whipped out a small hand blaster, John kicked the barrel of the cannon and it spun towards the Trooper. The cannon knocked the blaster out of his hand, at the same time John reached over and pulled the trigger of the mounted gun. The cannon obliterated the Trooper from the waist up sending blood all over the pilot. The laser bolt exploded into the side of the building sending large chunks of permacrete and glass all over the Imperial Speeder. A huge chunk of building smashed through windshield of the speeder and caved in the pilots chest. The speeder lurched forward sending John crashing down on his chest.

* * *

**Floor 185 **

A spider-like cleaning droid crawled up on a green table inside the gaming room. It folded its legs inside itself and started buffering the top of the table while it hummed a robotic tune. The large window pane smashed and the Imperial speeder crashed into the room taking out most of the games. The cleaning droid screamed and scampered away as glass and wood flew in all directions.

John slowly sat up inside the speeder as the dust settled around him , " I wonder what the score of the Yankee's game is." He then plopped back down, exhausted.

* * *

End of chapter 6


	7. Catching a ride

**Die Hard with a Rebellion **

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**Chapter 7 - Catching a ride - **

* * *

**Security Room - Lobby - **

Commander Janock Karn watched dozens of monitors go blank after the explosion. He turned and watched Lando's expression, then smiled at the hotel owner as it looked like Lando might get sick any moment.

" A shame, " Karn mocked him, " so much property damage there. Just to get rid of a mercenary named McClane. How much more of your hotel will be destroyed to get rid of Mace Windu, I wonder ? "

Lando gulped as Karn strolled over to him. " You know where he's hiding, don't you ? "

" If I knew, " Lando gritted his teeth, " I'd tell you so my place won't be destroyed."

" You built this place after your big win on Corellia. The Galaxy Wide Sabbacc Tournament. Am I correct ? " Karn walked back over in front of the wall of monitors.

" That's right. "

" You'd hate to lose it, wouldn't you ? " Karn took out his silver hand blaster and polished the handle.

" It would be a big loss, yes. "

Karn stared at the young teen sitting at the computer, the boy was nervously rubbing his hands, over and over.

" Open the casino cameras. Now. " Karn asked the boy in a soft voice.

" The casino has internal…." Lando stopped talking as Karn pointed the hand blaster in his direction.

" W-We have t-to go up to the c-casino office to unlock the cameras." The boy stuttered as he spoke.

Karn turned and shot a red laser bolt right into the boy's chest, the teen let out a cry and flopped off of his chair.

" Why did you do that ? " Lando yelled and took a step forward, the Stormtrooper shot Lando with a stun wave and the hotel owner fell to his stomach in a heap, knocked out.

Karn kicked Lando's lifeless arm with a look of disgust, he then took a small communicator out of his pocket, " Send a technician in here." He then tilted his head in wonderment as a glint of metal reflected light from Lando's wrist. He reached down and pulled back Lando's sleeve to reveal the wrist computer. He ripped the watch from Lando's wrist and inspected it closely.

An Imperial technician entered the room and nodded at his commander. Karn walked over to the tech and handed him the watch, " What do you make of this, Mardell ? "

" Ah, " The thin Mardell smiled, " this is the brand new LS-D23 Coder. The very latest in covert gadgetry."

" What does it do ? " Karn asked as he watched the technician punch in a few codes on the watch.

" You mean, what _doesn't_ it do. This little thing can be slaved to just about anything that's computerized. He can operate elevators, send private messages, turn off computers, freeze bank accounts, operate droids, lock and unlock doors…"

" That slimy little worm, " Karn scowled at the unconscious Lando, " lets start gathering more of our guests with this watch of his. We'll trick them into thinking it's a message from Lando himself. I also want you to get into the casino file and find me the camera system for it. "

* * *

**Floor 98 **

Mace entered the fancy office of Lando Calrissian. The bells and whistles of the empty casino floor fell silent as the door closed behind him. He strolled past Lando's long oval shaped desk towards the office window. He stood there for a moment watching the speeder traffic of Coruscant. He reached inside his robe and pulled out the small disc with the Imperial bombing plans stored on it. _I have to give this to the stranger. Why is there such a familiarity with this man ? Like I've known him for years. He seems to recognize me as Zeus, very odd. The force works in mysterious ways_.

Mace let out a sickening cough and put the disc back in his robe. He looked at the wall with the fancy gold lettering of _Lando's Casino _displayed with pictures of the interior of the casino surrounding it. He walked over and pulled down on the letter L. There was a clicking noise and the word _Casino_ split apart between the letters C and A to reveal a small keypad. He typed in _Lando Calrissian 9813TTT. _

" Welcome, Mr. Calrissian. " A female computer voice belted out as the wall opened further to reveal a metal door. Mace pressed a small red button next to the door and it quickly hissed to one side revealing the escape pod. The interior of the pod was big enough for five people to move around in. In the middle of the pod floor there was a large, square metal safe bolted securely. Mace walked around the safe to the front panel, he entered the same code in a keypad and the entire panel came to life. The controls folded out and all the displays lit up. The metal wall above the panel split apart to reveal the Coruscant traffic and buildings ahead. He saw the eject button brightly lit in green, waiting for him to press it. His finger hovered over the button for a moment. _This is not how it's supposed to be. I have to give this disc to the stranger. But what if he died on the roof ? _

Mace suddenly turned his head when he sensed a presence enter the Casino floor. _That has to be him. _

_

* * *

_**Floor 82 - **

" Yes sir ! I understand ! " GX-495 nodded then yelled to a dozen Stormtroopers searching the suites on the floor.

" We have the JedI in the Casino on floor ninety eight ! Lets go ! We have to access it by the stairs, we'll take the elevator to floor ninety six and go from there. Move it ! "

* * *

**Floor 98 - **

Mace Windu opened the office door , " John, I'm glad you changed…" he stopped, with a look of surprise on his face.

Boba Fett stood by the entrance, he quickly brandished two hand blasters and started firing across the casino at Mace. The JedI dove to one side as lasers exploded on the wall behind him. Mace sat next to a loud machine rattling off numbers and music. He turned and fired a few shots towards Boba, but the bounty hunter took cover as well. Mace aimed at one of the fancy chandeliers and fired, he hit the top part of it and it crashed down hard behind the gambling machine Boba was hiding behind. The bounty hunter rolled out of the way in time as the chandelier smashed to pieces on the floor. Mace lifted one of the large sabacc tables with the force and threw it across the room. Boba jumped behind a counter in time as the table exploded on the counter sending large chunks of wood and felt pieces all over the place.

Boba jumped up from behind the counter and fired more shots in Mace's direction, Mace ducked back again as the machine started to fly apart from the laser blasts. Mace ducked and rolled over behind another machine. He leaned out and pointed his hand blaster at the counter, but to his surprise, there was nobody there.

He heard the sound of something small rolling on the floor. He looked down in time to see a small fist sized ball rolling in his direction. He stood up and ran towards the office, he barely avoided laser blasts as the door hissed open, the ball exploded in a deafening crack, caving in the wall next to the door and sending Mace flying across the office. He landed hard on the oval shaped desk and slid right off of it onto the floor. Boba Fett flew into the office with his jetpack and landed neatly on the oval desk. He raised his arm at Mace but the JedI kicked the desk as hard as he could with both feet sending the bounty hunter crashing down hard on the floor. Mace reached for his gun on the floor but Boba grabbed his arm while they both scrambled to their feet. Mace elbowed him in the stomach then grabbed at his cape, he pulled Boba Fett's cape over his head then kneed him in the side. Boba quickly spun around while firing his flame thrower weapon, creating a wide circle of fire in the small space, Mace quickly jumped to the floor and kicked the bounty hunters legs out from under him. The walls were on fire and the office started to quickly fill up with smoke as Mace jumped on Boba's back to try and choke him out with his arms around his neck.

Boba threw a hard back elbow to Mace's ribcage then flipped him over, off of his back. Mace jumped up quickly and kicked the bounty hunter hard in the facemask, it staggered Boba for a second but it hurt Mace's foot more. Boba quickly shot out his capture rope around Mace, squeezing the JedI's arms in front of him. Boba took out a hand blaster with his free arm, Mace quickly gave the big oval desk a head nod and it quickly slid into Boba, sending him flying into the open door of the secret safe escape pod room. The movement pulled Mace right on top of the desk as he was still trapped in the rope. Mace eyed a jagged piece of wall on the floor. His brown robe started to catch fire and he could feel the heat of it as it started to eat away his robe. Boba stood up next to the bolted down safe, he picked up his blaster off of the pod floor and walked over to a helpless, burning Mace Windu, lying on top of the desk right outside the door. Mace quickly used the force on the jagged piece of wall and sent it flying past Boba's head, the bounty hunter ignored the piece of plaster and lifted his hand blaster to fire at the jedI. The piece of wall hit the bright green eject button quickly closing the pod door and deflecting Boba's laser blast all over the pod until it stopped at a smoking cushioned panel. The pod shot out of the side of the building in a puff of white smoke, directly towards a busy section of Coruscant speeder traffic. The engines roared to life.

Boba Fett scrambled to his feet and hurried to the control panel of the escape pod. The collision warning blared as Boba took control just in time to avoid a head on collision with a large speeder bus. He looked at a new warning that read _: TWO MINUTES UNIL DESTINATION - 2:00 - 1:59 - 1:58 … _

Mace quickly took off the slack rope. He removed his burning robe and staggered out of the office. He coughed and wiped his eyes as the black smoke started to fill the casino room as well. He checked to see if the disc survived the fight and let out a relieved sigh as he saw it was still intact.

" Hey shit head ! " John called out from the entrance. Mace smirked at the man, who looked like he went through a rough ride himself. John had blood on his cheek, his jacket was ripped all over and he had a film of ash over parts of his bald head.

" Any luck on the roof ? " Mace asked him as he tucked the disc away.

" Very funny. How about that escape pod ? " They both started towards the entrance.

" It was occupied. " Mace quickly raised his blaster as a dozen Stormtroopers marched into the casino. They quickly surrounded them and pointed their blaster rifles at both of them. Several fire droids entered to extinguish the flames.

John raised his hands up , " Can't catch a break. "

" Drop your weapon JedI ! " One of the troopers roared.

Mace lowered his blaster to the floor and slowly raised his hands as well.

* * *

**Security Room - Lobby - **

Janock Karn applauded in front of the security camera that displayed John and Mace surrounded by the dozen Stormtroopers. He turned and gave the unconscious Lando a hard kick in the side, " You see ? You didn't have to wait long for us to catch those rats. Why did you have to be so sneaky about it ? "

* * *

End of Chapter 7


	8. Good timing

_**Die Hard with a Rebellion**_

* * *

_Chapter 8 - Good timing - _

* * *

_**Floor 98 **_

" Have any ideas ? " John muttered out of the side of his mouth, three Stormtroopers walked towards him as he kept his hands over his head. Mace didn't answer as he eyed the armored foes. Three other Stormtroopers approached Mace with laser rifles pointed at his chest. The middle trooper took out two sets of hand binders and reached out to handcuff Mace.

" LOOK OUT ! " A Stormtrooper yelled from the doorway and ran for cover. Everyone in the room turned towards the large casino window as they heard the approaching whine get louder. Mace grabbed the front of John's shirt and hauled him back as the escape pod smashed into the room in a loud crash !

Glass flew everywhere, the pod smashed into the floor sending plaster, wood and game tables into the air. The floor caved in and catapulted Stormtroopers into the ceiling as they cried out in surprise. Mace and John ducked while covering their heads in the back end of Lando's office. The entire office door wall blew in filling the room in white dust and smoke.

" W_e _have to get out of here, " Mace quickly stood up while grabbing John's sleeve, " that pod is timed to explode. "

" Well, we can't get out the way we came, that way is blocked_. " _John stated, looking at the destruction on the casino floor.

* * *

_**Security Room - Lobby - **_

Janock Karn stood slack jawed at the security screen, there was nothing but a white dust cloud blocking the vision of the casino floor. He quickly raised a small hand mic to his mouth.

" GX - 495, " Karn barked into the mic, " GX - 495 report. What is going on up there ? "

He listened to a loud static noise, then some coughing.

" Report GX - 495 ! "

" Sir. Something crashed into the casino. " GX - 495 finally reported with difficulty, he soon started coughing.

* * *

_**Floor 98 **_

Mace used the force and pulled a blaster rifle from a Stormtrooper in the rubble across the casino floor. He looked up and fired a large hole in the ceiling. He then tucked the rifle away and crouched, holding both of his hands out for John to step on.

" Quickly. " Mace nodded while John gave the JedI Master a protesting glance. He grabbed Mace's shoulder and stepped on his hands, he pushed and jumped up into the hole in the ceiling, his hand found a stable board and he grabbed hold. He pulled himself in the hole and helped Mace afterwards. They crawled on elbows and knees through wires and pipes inside the ceiling until they came to a small vent above their heads. Mace shot another hole and they climbed to into floor 99.

" To the stairs. " Mace brushed dust off of his legs and started to jog towards the staircase at the end of the hallway. They were a dozen feet away when the floor shook violently, sending them sprawling into the walls. The entire hallway behind them blew into the ceiling in a large ball of smoke, flame and debris.

" Run ! " Mace yelled over the loud noise of the floor below getting shredded and thrown out to the Coruscant sky. They made it to the stairs and started to run up as a large cloud of smoke and fire followed them from behind.

* * *

_**Security Room - Lobby - **_

The Imperial tech sitting at the main consol watched as his glass of ale vibrated off of the table and shattered on the floor. He gave Karn a concerned glance.

" What in the world was that ? " Karn breathed out, almost to himself.

" Bring up a hallway image of floor 98. " Karn commanded then watched one of the monitors on the wall. The hallway was torn to bits with smoke and rubble everywhere.

" This JedI and his friend are really starting to get under my skin. Get me Admiral Piett, he's in the Imperial Factory in section 87. " Karn stormed out of the room rubbing his bald head.

Lando stirred on the floor, he slowly moved his head as he watched the tech pressing buttons on a communicator display_. _

* * *

_**Floor 95 **_

The ceiling to a large honeymoon suite caved in sending white plaster and chalky dust all over the room. A black, smoking safe crashed into the floor and fell to one side. After a moment of settling, sparks started to fly out of the door frame of the safe, then a blue torch flame shot out, melting a line down one side of the door. The step was repeated in a neat square until the safe door fell off and clanked to the floor. Boba Fett rolled himself out of the safe and onto his back. He stayed there for awhile, breathing heavily in complete exhaustion.

The door to the closet opened quickly and a small service droid rolled out. The droid extended its six service arms and started to buff and clean Boba's armor plated body. It mechanically beeped out a tune as it started buffing the bounty hunter's shoulder plates. Boba shook his head as he stared at the large hole in the ceiling, the safe had created five similar holes in the previous three floors. He sat himself up with difficulty, reached in his holster, and blasted the service droid.

* * *

End of chapter 8


	9. The pre show

_**Die Hard with a Rebellion **_

* * *

_Chapter 9 _- The pre-show -

* * *

**Floor 112 **

**M**ace and John continued their way up staircase after staircase, occasionally stopping when hearing noise in the main hallways. John let out an exhausted puff of air and leaned on a hand rail next to a picturesque view of Coruscant.

" We can't stop, " Mace gave the bald American a disapproving glare, " we have to find a way out of this building. "

" You want to jump out a window ? Be my guest. " John sat down on the step and tenderly touched a cut on his cheek.

" We have to work together from now on , " Mace fought the urge to cough and continued, " this disc has to end up in Mon Mothma's hand. "

" And how do you expect to get out of here wizard ? " John stood up annoyed and pointed towards the Coruscant skyline , " Fly ? "

" If we stop and think…."

" Wait a second, " John grabbed Mace's shoulder, " Fly ! I flew one of those fuckin ships right inside the building ! "

" How badly damaged was it ? " Mace returned a bit of enthusiasm John's way.

" Not too bad, I think. Let's go. "

* * *

**Main Lobby **

**T**he several hundred guests were being filed out the big front doors by waves of Imperial soldiers. Janock Karn stood by the front desk watching his men do their job, he had a pained expression on his face. _I have to succeed in killing this JedI and his friend, Darth Vader is coming to inspect my progress, I'll be promoted to Admiral. This process is taking entirely too long. _

" Lieutenant Garce , " Karn barked out over the noise , " what is the taking you so long to throw these people out of the building ? "

" Some are being resistant sir ! " Garce yelled, as he struggled to move a couple of guests as they rummaged through their luggage.

" Perhaps a little motivation is in order. " Karn mumbled and strolled over towards Garce and the couple of guests. He lifted his blaster and shot a red laser right in the side of the man's head as he was struggling with Garce.

" ANYONE ELSE WANT TO GIVE MY MEN A HARD TIME ? " Karn screamed, red faced. The guests started moving faster out of the front doors. Janock Karn nodded in satisfaction and walked out of sight towards the security room.

He punched in a code on the door and entered the circular security room, what he saw disturbed him. His technician was slumped over in his seat, the Stormtrooper was knocked out next to the computer terminal. Lando Calrissian was missing.

_That little piece of slime. Well, you can go down with your hotel, Calrissian. I have one of Admiral Piett's Tie Fighters on it's way here to destroy this place. Time to join my men outside to watch the show. _

* * *

**Floor 123 **

" This, " John puffed as he dropped to a knee and rested on the stairwell, " is gonna take us forever to climb. "

" Well, the elevators are gone so keep moving. " Mace continued climbing the stairs.

" Where the hell are you finding the energy ? " John stood up and followed.

" I'm drawing on it from the force. Now be quiet. "

" Ya, fuck you too. " John nodded.

* * *

**Floor 122 **

Boba Fett stopped walking down the hall lined with suite doors. He pressed a button on the side of his helmet and a small display shot into his vision of audio waves. The waves were barely moving, but the sensors had picked it up, that meant he wasn't alone. He increased the frequency on the helmet and played back the recorded wave.

" Ya, fuck you too. " The voice stated in exhaustion.

Boba Fett walked faster towards the stairway and started to jog up the staircase.

* * *

**Outside the Hotel **

Janock Karn strolled over to a large troop transport ship, they were loading the guests inside the ship to take them away. He turned and stared at the Hotel as it stretched into the Coruscant sky. Smoke still billowing out of sections half way up and from the roof. The ground all around the Hotel was littered with debris from the explosions.

" Sir, you have a message from Lord Vader ! " An Imperial officer announced as he returned from the front of the troop transport.

" I will take it on the way out of the area. Let's depart. " Karn waved his hand and walked up the large ramp behind a row of Stormtroopers.

* * *

**Floor 5 **

Lando squinted his eyes out of the suite room to the scene below. The Imperials just lifted off and glided far away from the building in a large troop transport ship. They stayed there under the busy Coruscant speeder traffic, watching the building_. What are they doing now ? I wonder if I can intercept a transmission from that ship. _Lando took out a large, hand held transistor device he borrowed from the stock room behind the security room. He started punching in codes on the device until he heard a long, loud beeping tone. He pointed the device at the imperial transport, the beeping started to stutter until he heard a voice talking through the speaker on the device.

Lando raised his eyebrows. _Well, that was easier than I thought. _

" Lord Vader, to what I owe the honor ? " Karn's voice broke through the static, Lando gulped at the name Vader. He couldn't hear the response as it came though a different coded responder.

" ….won't be long now my lord. I have an Imperial Tie Fighter on the way. They won't survive. "

Lando dropped the device in shock and it clattered on the floor. He arched his neck around the window at the skyline to see if the Tie was close, there was no sign of it yet. _Must be coming from the factory in section 87. I better get out of here and right now. _Lando turned and ran out of the room, he stopped at the door to the stairwell. _I can't stroll out the front door, they'd spot me and blast me to pieces. Damn JedI ! This is all his fault ! Why did he have to pick MY hotel ? Think Lando, think ! _Lando paced back and forth rubbing his temples.

He walked over to a small panel on the wall and pressed a secret button under the bottom part of it. The wall above the panel opened and a small metal arm extended with a pen sized metal cylinder. Lando grabbed it and started making his announcement, hoping to contact Mace Windu in the hotel.

* * *

**Floor 125 **

" Where are the patrols ? " Mace wondered aloud as they continued to round staircase after staircase.

" We, " John took a breath, " haven't seen one in awhile. Maybe they gave up. Couple of bad asses loose in the building, can't blame 'em."

" ATTENTION JEDI AND HIS FRIEND, THIS IS LANDO CALRISSIAN. "

Mace and John gave each other a surprised look, the announcement seemed to be coming from multiple speakers all the way down the stairs and every hallway. John lit a cigarette and nudged the JedI Master, " I guess we're friends now. "

" THE IMPERIALS HAVE TAKEN ALL THE GUESTS AND ABANDONED THE BUILDING, THEY ARE PLANNING ON BRINGING DOWN THE ENTIRE THING WITH A TIE FIGHTER. YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME BEFORE IT GETS HERE. I'M GOING TO TAKE MY CHANCES AND JUMP OUT A WINDOW ON THE NORTH SIDE, AWAY FROM THE IMPERIAL TRANSPORT COVERING THE FRONT ENTRANCE. YOU BETTER BE CLOSE TO THE GROUND FLOOR OR YOU'LL BE GOING DOWN WITH THE BUILDING. LANDO OUT. "

" Nice to be on the hundred and twenty fifth fuckin floor ! " John yelled out throwing his cigarette on the stairs in frustration.

" We better hurry then, we have to get to that Imperial speeder and hope that it still operates. " Mace reacted to the news as though Lando had announced the daily weather.

" Dammit Mace, " John complained, " we don't have time to climb another sixty floors to that a ship that might not work ! It was pretty damaged when I crashed it inside that room."

" Do you have a better solution ? " Mace stared at McClane, the JedI's eyes betraying the pain the master was in.

" We have to run back down as fast as we can and take our chances…." John was cut off by a loud zing noise.

Mace looked down at his own chest, a small dart was sticking out of it. He winced as he plucked the dart out and stared at it. White bile slowly dribbled out of the corner of his mouth and he fell back on the handrail.

" No ! " John grabbed Mace's shoulders preventing the man from falling down the stairs.

" Take the disc, " Mace gurgled, " run, " he coughed and wheezed, with one final breath he managed his last words to John McClane, " Boba is, cough, here. Save the Rebellion." John watched the JedI slump down and rest on the stairs.

John tucked the disc in his pocket and grabbed the blaster rifle out of Mace's side belt. He swung around and fired off several red laser blasts down the stairs, he saw the armored foe duck for cover behind a wall.

" Come on you piece of shit ! I'm right here ! Let's go down in style ! " John fired off a few more lasers keeping the bounty hunter in cover. A shiny, metallic ball bounced off of the wall in front of John and exploded in a blinding flash of light and sound. His hearing and sight vanished in a sea of white as he dropped the rifle and staggered back through the door into the long hallway. He tripped over a garbage can spilling its contents on the tile entrance to the floor. He scrambled around wiping his eyes and flexing his jaw, trying to regain his composure and balance.

He rolled to his back and sat up slowly, furiously rubbing his eyes. His vision returned to a hazy door entrance to the stairs. Boba Fett stood in the entrance.

" I'm going to enjoy this, traitor. " Boba's voice sounded like someone talking through a walkie talkie to John. The bounty hunter did a finger flip with his blaster and tucked it inside his holster. He grabbed John by the front of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. The armored menace gave John a hard knee to the stomach, John doubled over in pain as the air was sucked out of his lungs immediately. Boba grabbed John by the shirt and threw him hard off of the wall. John's hand swiped over a square pad on the wall and a door quickly slid to one side causing him to fall inside a small kitchen area.

Boba Fett grabbed John by the arm and tossed him over a table, he slid over the metal surface knocking all the pots and pans off of the hooks hanging over it. He landed hard on his side on the white tiled floor as the pots and pans clanged next to him. Boba walked around the table, he shook his arm slightly and four jagged climbing spikes extended out of the bottom of his forearm. He swiped downwards at John, but the blow was blocked by a large pan sending a few sparks jumping to the floor. John quickly grabbed another pan and swung it hard, it hit the walking weapon right on the side of his ankle.

" Argh ! " Boba let out a grunt at the pain shooting around his ankle, he staggered back enough for John to get to his feet. John rushed the bounty hunter swinging pans from both hands, Boba blocked one blow with the climbing spikes sending out another shower of sparks, the other blow clanged right on the front of his mask. Boba hit his back on a refrigerator door knocking over a bowl of fruit off of the top, he reached into his holster and quickly lifted his hand to fire but John knocked the blaster out of his hand with a pan. Boba kicked John in the stomach then picked him up and threw him through a window. John rolled over the top of a small sofa with glass spraying all around him.

Boba Fett jumped through the broken window into the small living room. He reached down and removed a small hunting knife out of his boot. He swiped down at John who rolled out of the way and the knife dug right into the carpet. John grabbed his arm and flipped Boba right over a small wooden table. John stood up facing a large window with the Coruscant traffic zipping back and forth on the skyline. In the distance, a TIE Fighter quickly screamed it's way towards him, dodging the speeder traffic easily.

* * *

**Inside the Imperial Troop Transport **

" Cheer up, " Janock Karn patted the pilots shoulder, " the real show is about to begin."

* * *

_End of chapter 9 _


	10. final chapter

**Die Hard with a Rebellion **

* * *

Chapter 10 - Final Chapter -

* * *

**Floor 125 **

Boba Fett gave John a hard punch to the chest sending him sprawling back into in fancy cabinet. John fell inside, breaking the delicate, ornate doors and smashing the decorative glass carvings inside.

Boba took a step towards the downed man with a clenched fist. His sound sensors suddenly activated in his view finder. He turned and saw the TIE fighter quickly approaching the building through the thick Coruscant speeder traffic. The growing thunder of noise from it's ion engines rattling the window itself.

" Good-bye , Rebel scum. " Boba Fett said as his jet pack activated. Boba grabbed a chair and sent it smashing out of the window. He rocketed away through the broken window in a trail of twin exhaust thrusts.

John jumped up, brushing the glass off of himself. " Ya, next time Inspector Gadget, next time. " He stood in the broken window as the TIE roared by the right side of the building, he covered his ears from the roar.

The TIE did a quick maneuver and turned back to the Palagrash Hotel, it shot several green lasers across the face of floor one hundred and sixty. A huge section of the side of the building blew out in a huge cloud of debris and smoke.

John fell to the floor as the room vibrated violently. Half of the ceiling caved in and crashed to the floor pelting him in the face with a cloud of dust. The TIE roared by outside as it circled the building in a deafening scream. John crawled his way to the broken window and leaned out to see where the ship went. He wiped the dust off of his face and ran back inside the destroyed room, he exited the kitchen back into the hallway.

The hallway shook and an entire side of the floor at the end of the hall fell to the floor below creating a loud crashing noise. John touched a panel on the wall and the elevator doors hissed open. The elevator car was missing and all that was there were dangling cables. He ripped off his jacket and wrapped it around the cables.

The TIE accelerated towards floor one hundred and fifty five and unloaded a big wave of green lasers right through the building. The entire top forty five floors tipped over and fell down to the street below, creating a huge cloud of dust and debris as well as a thunderous noise.

John saw the rushing cloud of debris quickly rushing down the elevator shaft, he jumped and held on to his jacket as he slid down the elevator cables. He picked up speed and his jacket started to release a smoking burning smell. He landed hard on top of an elevator stopped on the thirtieth floor. He dropped the jacket and stumbled into the side of the shaft. He clumsily grabbed the handle to the trap door to the elevator car and yanked it open. He jumped in the elevator and did a front roll right out of the elevator car into the tiled hallway of floor thirty. Seconds later the elevator car vanished and was propelled down in a waved of broken building parts. John scrambled to his feet and ran towards the staircase.

* * *

**Imperial Troop Transport Cockpit **

" Why is he wasting his time chopping the building down like that ? " Janock Karn stood behind the pilots with his arms crossed.

" I'm sure it's to keep the hotel from damaging the nearby buildings. If it tipped over it could crash right through that building over there. " The pilot pointed. The other pilot nodded.

Jack watched the TIE circle the building like a scavenger hunting its prey. Green blasts taking out large chunks off of the top. _What an imbecile. He's using this order as an opportunity for target practice. Apparently Admiral Piett didn't inform this trooper of the enormity of his task. _

" Can we contact this pilot ? " Karn asked as he watched the TIE blow away another chunk of building.

" No, " The pilot shook his head , " that's the newer model TIE, only frequency would be received by other TIE's or from a Star Destroyer. "

Karn spotted movement in a ship lot out of the corner of his eye. He squinted his eyes as he focused on a ship taking off in the lot. _Boba Fett ! _

" Pilot, punch in this frequency here. Contact that ship taking off from lot 14A, hurry up ! " Karn punched his palm in excitement.

" Contact made, go ahead. " The pilot stated.

" Slave 1, this is Commander Janock Karn. Your mission is not complete. I repeat, your mission is not complete. Help that fool destroy that building before Mace Windu escapes. " Karn waited for a response.

He watched as the Slave 1 ship changed direction and headed towards the hotel. _There, that should accelerate the process. _

" This should be quick. " Karn patted the pilots shoulder as they watched Slave 1 roar towards the hotel.

* * *

**Floor 27 **

John fell to his side and held on to the handrail as the stairs a few feet down from him collapsed to the floor below. The wall crumbled and crashed into the wall next to him. He breathed out a curse and looked down to the wreck a floor below. He wiped the sweat from his eyes and glanced out of the cracked window next to him.

The TIE flew into view and stopped. It then advanced towards the floor below John. He gulped and closed his eyes, waiting for the final blow.

Suddenly the TIE fighter exploded in a round ball of fire sending comet balls of smoke flying in multiple directions. John opened his eyes at the loud noise and watched the TIE fighter wreckage fall to the street. The Slave 1 flew into view and circled the building in a slow arc. John picked up a large piece of wall and smashed out the window. He waved his arms in the sky hoping to get his new saviors attention.

* * *

**Imperial Troop Transport Cockpit **

" Boba Fett ! " Karn screamed into the mic as he held the button down hard with his thumb, " what do you think you're doing ? You just destroyed an imperial fighter ! I hope you have an explanation for this ! "

" A little payback I guess. " The voice responded, but it wasn't Boba's voice.

" Lando ? " Karn realized after a second placing the voice.

" Yeah, I expect a little more courtesy next time. You weren't invited to my hotel in the first place. Anyway, I have to go, I'm picking up a guest here. " Lando ended the transmission.

Karn reached up and ripped levers and knobs out of the consol, creating sparks and finger sized smoke to sift through the cockpit.

* * *

**Slave 1 interior**

" What took you so long ? " John called up to the cockpit, he strapped himself in a safety harness near the cargo hold.

" I had to slice into the system here, this bounty hunter has quite a few safety locks to prevent theft. Where to Mr. McClane ? " Lando leaned sideways and smiled back at his new guest.

" Have any idea how to get a hold of a Man Mothman ? " John asked, lighting a cigarette.

" It's Mon Mothma, " Lando laughed, " I know some people who could find her. "

" Well, " John took a long drag of his cigarette, " let's get this piece of shit moving so we can find her. "

Lando nodded as he grabbed the controls. They took off into the Coruscant skies. John glanced out a small side porthole of the Slave 1 , he watched the Imperial Troop Transport slowly turn and head towards the thicker part of the busy traffic. _Yippie Ki-yay, mother fucker. _

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED …


End file.
